Archive By Section - Sports Columns

Every year about this time I'm reminded of the time I came across two lost anglers while fishing the Delta. While fishing, they approached my boat and asked me if I knew where the launch ramp was? When I asked them which ramp they were looking for, they had no idea of the name of the ramp they launched out of. They then began to describe the launch ramp to me and after a process of elimination; I realized where they must have launched from. As I began to give them directions, it was obvious to me that they ...

In 1857 and 1858, an emigrant road connected what is now the Ebbets Pass road with Carson Pass. Pioneers coming to California used it for 2 years until the new Ebbets Pass was opened and then the abandoned road began to be reclaimed by the forest from which it was carved. The famous mountain man, John "Snowshoe" Thompson used the route to carry mail over the Sierras in winter when all the roads were closed by snow. For a hundred years the road sat unused and pretty much unknown, lost in the mists of time. The road ran from Hermit ...

Corn-fed was a prison guard. In all my life I have never seen a better convergence of a person, a name and an occupation. Corn-fed was built very much like a steer that stood on two legs; he was huge. In his occupation as a prison guard his size was a great asset. The inmates did what he told them to do and didn't give him any trouble. It was as if he was made for the job.

There was a time when simply kicking rocks into puddles could turn into a vicious competition ending in an altercation, but since my brother Mark has spent the better half of the last decade with the Navy we have proven our parents correct with regards to all that "one day you will appreciate each other" type stuff.

Oftentimes when you're out afield, you happen across things that may have no bearing upon hunting or fishing but which enhance the overall outdoor experience. The iron kettle is a perfect example. For decades my Dad and I fished a particular stretch of stream that had great fishing largely because it was difficult to get to. We walked down a trail that followed the main river for 2 miles and then fished up a tributary creek about 4 miles to an old immigrant road that was abandoned in 1858. We walked back 4 more miles along the route of ...

It seems as though the public schools get a lot of criticism these days, but then I'd be willing to bet that people have been complaining about schools as long as schools have existed. Certainly, some of the criticism of schools is warranted and schools could use improvement. There is, however, a good argument to be made that that we are asking our schools and their administrators and teachers to teach things that we, as parents, should be teaching to our children ourselves. Quite honestly, I'm not qualified to teach my children chemistry, music, or computer science. By ...

Over the years, I have seen several different fishing nets being marketed to fishermen. One challenge that comes with netting fish has always been keeping the hooks from snagging themselves within the netting material. At the request of anglers, rubber nets were made, and for a while they were the wave of the future when it came to nets.